Evaluating the Virtual Institution: The Flashlight Project Evaluation of International University. AIR 1998 Annual Forum Paper.

International University (IU) is an independent, nonprofit, "virtual" institution that offers baccalaureate and master's degrees in business communication via classes conducted entirely on the World Wide Web and Internet. Courses are developed by experts in the field of business communications; IU then compiles the necessary study guides, reading packets, interactive computer software, Web sites, and videos. In 1996, in preparation for the accreditation process by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, IU contracted with the Flashlight Project for the design of a comprehensive institutional evaluation plan which focused on four issues: academic content, academic resources, retention, and technological opportunities and challenges. This paper examines how the virtual environment affected the evaluation design and process, and what the evaluation revealed about IU's ability to reach its learning goals of fostering collaboration, encouraging student-centered learning, and enabling productive interaction between students and faculty and among students. The paper discusses how a virtual university is evaluated; the IU student experience; and goals for student interaction with faculty and other students, for student professional enrichment, and for student team work. The paper concludes that the evaluation has been successful (accreditation was granted in 1997), and also led to a process of continual quality improvement. (CH)